Who cares if wrestling is real or not? It's one of the best brainless I spectator events in the county, and as it I turns out it's also a pretty good video game.

ProTip: If your opponent climbs onto the turnbuckle, slam into it to knock him over.

Is It Real or Is It WWF?

This rowdy game captures all the flash and flair of pro wrestling. Real life WWF standouts star in this show. You get 12 of them, including The Undertaker, Macho j Man Randy Savage, and of course Hulk Hogan. There's an outstanding variety of game play -- 37 bodacious moves come standard. Each wrestler also has a special move, like Papa Shango's Shoulder-breaker. On defense, you can kick out of pins, roll away, or use j that all-time classic -- jump out of the ring!

Mastering all the moves with only three buttons is a major achievement. The game supports the six-button controller, though, and that's the best way to play. WWF has a well-managed method to its madness. You can play a one-on-one Brawl, a 12-opponent Tournament, two- or three-man Tag Teams, or the outrageous Royal Rumble, where you fight all 12 foes, six guys at a time!

The graphics in this game are wild and wicked. Bodyslams, eye gouges, suplexes, and choke holds are smooth and realistically intense.
The sounds put on an okay show. The music rocks, and the grunts and body slaps against the mat are plentiful.

WWF Rumbles Royally

If you want a fighting game with a twist (and a bend and a bite), grapple with WWF Royal Rumble. If you don't...well, The Undertaker just might pay you a visit.

If you fall out of the ring, look for a chair or some other weapon -- and use it!

If you go for a slam off the turnbuckle and miss, you're temporarily sunned.

reggie posted a review.

Overall rating: 7.5

Download WWF Royal Rumble

Game Reviews

The WWF is back in town in an all-out, eye-gouging, backbreaking SNES brawl! If you thought you'd seen it all in wrestling games, you'd better sit down. This WWF game is gonna pin you to the mat and make you cry "Uncle!"

Does your wrestler have what it takes to go the distance and whip the opposition? Or is he just another lowly bum trying to squeeze a comeback out of nothing? To find out, fight twelve of the WWF's best for your chance to get your name into the record books as the Master of Disaster, the Sultan of Slam, the Prince of Pins!

WWF: Royal Rumble is a one- or two-player game that pushes the wrestling envelope. Smooth moves and quick action make this one of the best wrestling games for any system.

No Wrestle for the Wicked

All of your favorite WWF Grapple Gurus are represented here in gorgeous color, and you have an elevated ringside view of the action. You can pick from 12 wrestlers (a first for wrestling games), including Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Lex Luger, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, and The Million Dollar Man, and more. Each wrestler comes with his own patented super move, like the Undertaker's Tombstone Pile Driver, Bret Hart's Sharpshooter, or Tatanka's Reverse Fallaway Slam.

ProTips:

If you're ready to Rumble, let everyone beat each other's brains out while you watch from a safe distance. Steer clear of the ropes if your energy is low.

You can charge into a ref and knock him out. While you wait for him to come to his senses, pull some illegal moves, like eye-gouges.

Throw, Throw, Throw the Man Down

WWF has more wrestling options than any game to date. Play one player against the computer, one player against another player, a two- or three-wrestler tag team against human opponents or the computer, or a two- or three-player tag team cooperative against the computer.

You can also participate in the Royal Rumble, an all-out free-for-all where all 12 wrestlers jump into the action at once. The Rumble's a survival-of-the-fittest competition: The last wrestler left standing wins. You can set the Royal Rumble's difficulty from one to ten, and there's a skill to nament where you literally climb the ropes to the championship belt.

You can also set the game for a One Fall Match with a referee, or go for a Brawl without a referee, meaning that eye gouging and choking are allowed. In a One Fall Match, you must pin your opponent to win. In a Brawl, you just beat the heck out of his life bar.

Once you get the controls down, WWF's single-person game play is pretty good. Player-against-player is much harder to fight, since the grappling requires fast thumbs and quick reflexes. If both players possess those qualities, then you're in for a long night.

In a two-player cooperative tag-team match, wait for your teammate to back an opponent into your comer. Then, press the Punch button. If you get a choke-hold on your opponent, your teammate can pummel him.

Slam Bam Graphics

WWF's graphics and sounds are simply outstanding. The digitized wrestler pics at the beginning of the game are crystal clear and photo sharp. Each sprite moves cleanly and executes the wrestling moves with the greatest of ease. Even the audience looks real.

The only music is the opening theme. There are, however, great sound effects, like background sounds that change with each player.

You'll also find standard wrestler grunts, groans, and bone cracks.

Here's a great maneuver Hit an opponent until he falls and then foot stomp him to drain his life meter. When he rises, immediately hit him again and repeat the foot stomp. Then, yank him to his feet using Button X and pull your Super Move on him.

While outside the ring, walk in front of the mat until you see a chair. Press Y to pick up the chair, then any other button to slam it into your opponent

At the beginning of the Royal Rumble, choke-hold all of your opponents to weaken them, then slam them into submission. Once they're weak, you can toss them out of the ring.

Be careful when you're trying to get back inside the ring. If you enter at the top of the screen, you'll bump your head and lower your life meter.

Wrestle Assured

Even if you're not a wrestling fan, there's a lot to like about WWF Royal Rumble. Hot and sweaty graphics and sounds, solid game play, and a variety of play options make this the best wrestling game to date. WWF fans and armchair wrestlers alike will want to pin this one to the mat.

reggie posted a review.

Overall rating: 7.5

People say:

5.5

If you walk up to this game expecting a WWF SmackDownl-quality experience, pack up your tights and head home now--WWF Royal Rumble is downright skeletal compared to Yuke's much beefier PlayStation wrestlefest. You don't get a season mode here. You don't get any create-a-wrestler options. You don't even get a true tag-team mode. All you'll find are wrestlers, lots of them, all in the ring at once in the game's best play mode, the Royal Rumble. As you've no doubt read in every preview of this thing, Royal Rumble crams up to nine wrestlers into the ring at the same time, with no hits to the framerate, and you and three pals can control four of them. It's chaotic fun for a while, but the thrill wears thin quickly because all you really end up doing is wailing on opponents who wander too near the ropes. The other main mode--Exhibition--is much more straightforward and blase. It's just standard arcade-style action with simplified controls similar to SmackDownl's. During later matches the Al cheats more than...well, more than a real pro wrestler, making for a frustrating one-player game. In fact, there's really no reason you would want to play this game alone. It's more of a party game. Royal Rumble certainly looks good--some specials are downright as-seen-on-UPN fantastic. But I'd just as soon play the coin-op version in the arcades, where I can see the flashy visuals for cheap.

4.0

After the surprisingly high-quality WWF SmackDownl, I had extremely high hopes for THQ's DC wrassler. Royal Rumble. Having a potential squad of grapplers practically had me wetting myself. But unlike SmackDownl, with its oodles of options, awesome create-a-player mode and stunning graphics, RR stands out because it contains absolutely none of these things. An arcade mode, a versus mode and a chintzy options list is all you get. That's IT! The characters are ugly, the replay value is nil, control is weak, and the voice samples are nonexistent. This is one big disappointing cash-in on the Dreamcast's popularity. Avoid it.

5.5

I'm not a big wrestling fan any more, so maybe I can't appreciate all the nuance to this game. But from a pure entertainment perspective, RR has limited appeal. Like wrestling itself, there's tots of flash but not much substance. This Is basically a strategy-free-button-mashlng-arcade-style-party-game. In the ring I often had trouble turning to face my opponent, instead my guy would lunge to his flank, unwittingly opening up to power moves. 1 guess when a bunch of wrestlers storm the ring it's supposed to be riotous mayhem, but I found it to be annoying more than anything. The graphics aren't anything special, and the moves weren't all that fun to execute.

reggie posted a review.

Overall rating: 5

Played the Super NES version? This one is basically the same thing on a different platform! The colors are diminished somewhat, but wrestling fans will love it! Be sure to use the 6-button controller with this one!

reggie posted a review.

Overall rating: 7

Sports

Go down for the count with WWF Royal Rumble by those masterminds at LJN for your Super NES.

Assume the role of any one of twelve "classic" WWF characters. Go head-to-head in the one-on-one mode, try a tag team, triple tag team, or a Royal Rumble - a nerve-racking fight to the end. Wear them down in the ring or knock out the ref and get illegal outside the ring - flying chairs galore! Head's up!

People say:

7

Wrestling games are really not my cup of tea but i must give credit where credit is due! The graphics, sounds and play control are very well executed, and the brawls outside the ring are a riot - especially the ones with the folding chair you can use to bash opponents! The tag-team feature is also a novel idea.

7

I'm not a big fan of the WWF but this game may just change that. There are plenty of wrestlers to use, each with their special attacks. What I really like is the ability to climb out of the ring and bash your opponent with the chair. The game is best with two players but the long-term value doesn't seem very high.

7

This cart is a big improvement over the first. The graphics are much better and the animation is great. There are tons of special moves and the action gets really intense. There can be 6 or 7 wrestlers in the ring at a time with no slowdown! The game is very fun with another player, but on its own it seems to lose its appeal.

7

Ouch! WWF can really crack some skulls! This is, without a doubt, the best wrestling game for the Super NES to date. All my favorite wrestlers are here, each with their own special signature moves. The interface needs a little tightening up, but it's decent. Sure, pro wrestling may not be real, but it sure is fun!

reggie posted a review.

Overall rating: 7

WWF Royal Rumble is a wrestling fan's dream come true. All of your favorite wrestlers are here, like Hulk Hogan, Brutus "the Barber" beefcake and Mr. Perfect. Recreate the havoc of your favorite Royal Rumble. Can you throw the other WWF superstars out of the ring? Or if you want, you can have a straight match against a friend or the computer in an all-out bash! Speaking of bashing, once out of the ring, anything goes. Your wrestler can pick up chairs and other heavy objects to totally pummel your adversary. You also have an assortment of special moves, too! Two-player fighting action is definitely a plus, as this game goes above and beyond its predecessor in every way.